President arrives in Honduras on first leg of Central America trip

President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Honduras, the first leg of her Central America trip, on Sunday local time. Honduran Vice President Ricardo Antonio Alvarez Arias was at the airport to greet her.

During a speech upon her arrival, Tsai said that Taiwan and Honduras have enjoyed close ties for a long time. Last year was the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Tsai also spoke about the unusual rainy weather during her first visit to the Central American ally, saying it was a good sign.

This is one of the rare rainy days in Honduras. Vice President Arias was saying that the Chinese have an idiom about this kind of weather, that business or wealth gets a boost whenever water is involved. The vice president made the statement to indicate the stability of the relationship between our two nations. We will definitely have more prosperity in our relationship in the future," said Tsai.

President Tsai was received by local Taiwanese expatriates later in the day and toured an OTOP (One Town One Product) exhibit, which promotes locally made goods. Tsai will also meet with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to exchange ideas for further cooperation and to see the results of joint efforts between the two countries.

During her nine-day trip to Central America, Tsai will also visit the allied nations of Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador, before returning to Taiwan via San Francisco.